USA, Japan - Current Affairs Questions and Answers

ANSWER: Ajit Pai

Explanation:
President Donald Trump has picked a critic of the net neutrality rules to be chief regulatory of airwaves and internet connections in the US.

Ajit Pai has been chosen as the next chairman of the Federal Communications Commision wef 24^th Jan 2017.

Pai was also on five-member panel that regulates the country’s communications infrastructure, including TV, phone and internet service.

There are currently just three members on the panel.

The Republicans’ new majority at the FCC, along with their control of Congress and the White House, is expected to help them roll back policies for net neutrality.

Pai said he would aim for an industry friendly FCC. A deregulation-minded FCC could potentially allow more huge mergers, overturn new protections for internet users.

It could lead to higher costs for media and technology companies that rely on the internet to reach consumers.

Pai opposed online privacy regulations that force broadband providers to ask consumers for permission before using their data.

The Internet Association, a trade group that represents tech and video companies like Amazon, Facebook, Google and Netflix also lauded the move.

The FCC currently has a 2-1 Republican majority and two empty seats, which will be filled by one Republican and one Democrat.

Know More About Ajit Pai

• Pai, an Indian-American from Kansas, has been an FCC commissioner since 2012.
• During 15 years in government, he’s been a Senate staffer and worked at the FCC and the Justice Department.
• He was also a lawyer for Verizon and an attorney at the law firm Jenner & Block.

ANSWER: Japan

Explanation:

• A Japanese firm said it would open the world’s first fully automated farm with robots handling almost every step of the process, from watering seedlings to harvesting crops.
• Kyoto-based Spread said the indoor grow house will produce 30,000 heads of lettuce a day. The farm, measuring about 4,400 square meters, will have floor-to-ceiling shelves where the produce is grown.
• Seed planting will still be done by people, but the rest of the process, including harvesting, will be done (by industrial robots).
• The move to robot labor would chop personnel costs by about half and knock energy expenses down by nearly one third.
• The pesticide-free lettuce will also have more beta carotene than other farm-grown lettuce, the company said.
• Robot-obsessed Japan has repeatedly turned to automated workers to fill labor shortages that are projected to get worse as the country rapidly ages.

ANSWER: Japan

Explanation:
President of India Shri Pranab Mukherjee extended greetings to the Emperor and People of Japan on the eve of their national day on 23rd December 2015. The current emperor of Japan is Emperor Akihito and his birthday is celebrated on the national day of Japan. The two countries have recently strengthened bilateral ties into Special Strategic and Global Partnership.

ANSWER: Japan

Explanation:
Japan has taken the decision to resume whaling in the Antarctic Ocean by March end. By March 2014, ICJ had ruled that Japan’s decades old whale hunt in the Antarctic should stop. Japan fisheries agency has notified the International Whaling Commission on 27th November 2015 that Japan will resume whaling under the revised plan in the 2015/2016 season. Plan has also made the decision to cut annual minke whale catches by two thirds to 333. Scientific whaling in Japan commenced in 1987.

ANSWER: Indian Investment Initiative

Explanation:
Indian Investment Initiative/III was launched on October 10, 2015 in collaboration with USAID and Calvert Foundation as we'll as the US State department. This initiative makes it easier for Indian Americans to invest in SMBs back home. III offers a tool for Indian Americans to attain goals of leveraging close relations between India and the US. One of the first investments is IntelleGrow which focused on investment in key areas such as education, sustainable livelihoods and health. US based retail investors will support the initiative through the purchase of Community Investment Notes by Calvert Foundation. USAID will also provide Development Credit Guarantee for supporting Indian financial institutions contributing to social enterprises.

ANSWER: India and United States

Explanation:
India has emerged as the most sought after developing market for the US with bilateral trade between the two nations pegged at USD 500 billion by 2025 according to a survey conducted by PwC and Indo American Chamber of Commerce (IACC). Trade between the two nations can grow through considerable efforts from stakeholders even as there has been a 4 fold growth in Indo-US trade since 2006 to USD 100 billion in 2014.

ANSWER: Both of the above

Explanation:
Japanese Parliament has voted into law a defence policy shift which could permit its troops to fight overseas for the first time since 1945. This shift which is the biggest change in the defence policy of Japan since creation of post war military in 1954 is critical to meet new challenges, especially from China. Legislation has triggered protests from citizens who fear it could ensnare the Japanese troops in global violence. Bills promoting the law were approved by the lower and upper house of the Japanese parliament, despite opposition efforts to block vote submitting censure motions and no confidence motion against the cabinet of Shinzo Abe in the lower house. Long standing ban on collective self defence is to be removed via this law.

ANSWER: Interest rates in the US were kept the same

Explanation:
US Fed Reserve Chief Janet Yellen decided to keep the interest rates in the US economy unchanged. Indian fund managers and economists see this decision as another enabling factor for RBI to cut rates, which could give some more boost to the Indian economy that is again showing signs of stagnation.For the equity market, the immediate trend decider would be how the global markets react to the US rate decision. With Yellen not hiking the rates, FIIs are expected to be part of the Indian growth story.

ANSWER: India and United States

Explanation:
India and the US have created a joint challenge coin for unique partnership in the field of naval armament. One side of the coin is inscribed with the message Forward Together We Go and Chale Saath Saath in Hindi on the other side . This reflects the vision statements of the US president and the Indian PM respectively. One side of the coin that is golden in colour has India and US flags and the other shows an aircraft carrier floating on blue waters. The coin was created by JWG at the first meeting in August 2015 to symbolise partnership between naval forces which in turn was announced in January 2015 during president Obama’s visit to India.

ANSWER: 3.7%

Explanation:
On 27th Aug’15 the Commerce Department revised sharply upward its estimate of economic growth in the second quarter to a healthy annual pace of 3.7 percent, from an initial estimate of 2.3 percent.